Do try the scones. Jeffrey, we need a Mozart violin sonata, very soft, please.

English ivy CAN be a thug, if ignored. But it can also be kept in line with a little proactive monitoring. One example is how people don't want it climbing their trees ... but ignore it for years until it is 30' up into the canopy! Severing its growth at the base of the tree once per year will keep this from happening and takes literally a minute per tree. It is not necessary to "uncling" what growth has started up the trunk. It will just fall off in a relatively short time. If desired, the dying leaves can be snipped off with a manual hedge shear. That takes another minute. If I was going to grow annuals near Ivy, I'd place them in a sizable container in order to keep the two separate. Periodically trim the ivy off of the container. A container could be a very large flower pot (3') with no bottom that is sunk into the ground, but where its upper portion is raised above the ground. Because English ivy was my main groundcover at two previous residences, I found myself in need of tons of it, which I grew from cuttings. In a relatively small area you can create hundreds of cuttings at a time. An easy way to do this is to create a bed in an area that receives light shade ... the north side of a building without any overhead cover, for example. After working up the ground, create a furrow about 3" deep and line it with ivy cuttings that are 1" apart. The cuttings will be 6" to 8" length and their tops will stick out of the ground. (Treat the cuttings with rooting hormone power first. If you've never done that, first remove lower leaves, then wet the cuttings -- all of them at the same time -- and individually dip their root end into the powder and shake off the excess. Done.) After placing the cuttings in the furrow, scoot the dirt of the furrow closed in order to cover the below-ground portion of the cuttings. Then create another furrow adjacent to the first and repeat the process. (The first furrow is at the back of the bed and you work your way forward.) After getting them all planted, soak the bed by sprinkling it with a soft shower. Periodically -- 2 or 3 times a day -- sprinkle the bed lightly in order to keep the cuttings from drying out. It also helps if you could cover them lightly with a plastic sheet. Dig one cutting up at weekly intervals to check its progress. In 2 or 3 weeks they should have enough roots that they can be transplanted. If you make the error of allowing direct sun on the cuttings, they will dry out and die before rooting. If you dig up any areas of existing ivy that includes root portions, you can bury those portions shallowly (the whole piece, leaves and roots,) keep it moist, and those root portions will sprout new tops. You can do this if the area gets some sun on it, but keep the soil moist while the roots are regrowing and while the plants are establishing.

I don't think I'd paint your brick either. With its natural color, it fits so well onto your treed lot, like it has always been there. Understated and classy. I would paint the little bit of siding one of the colors in the brick - there's no reason for it to stand out, looks a little odd to me. I'm not seeing a lot of foot room at the front door for impressive pots. Is there a space over by the birdbath? Or, in Spring, maybe a hanging basket to the left as you approach the front door, that looks like a substantial overhang from which to hang a planter (could be wrong from the angle of the photo regarding how substantial that overhang. Outside of entrance at house front.) Could you put one large impressive pot into the bed to the right of the door, I can't quite see what is planted there. I could envision a sculpture of sorts mounted on the inside wall next to the door. Maybe in copper, or brass (could be found at a plant nursery). I have one at my slate entrance that is three pears with leaves, 26 wide by 18 tall How do you feel about teals, is that a color that makes you happy? My first thought is something like Ben Moore Teal Ocean or Naples Blue for that door.

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